Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza looks like he won’t be joining his Indiana University Hoosiers teammates on the upcoming White House tour.
“I believe it is May 11 [the day of the Hoosiers’ White House visit] first day of OTAs (organized team activities) … if it’s the first day of OTAs, like I say, I’m at the bottom of the totem pole here. [in Las Vegas]I have to prove myself,” Mendoza, 22, told reporters on Saturday, May 2.
He continued, “I can’t miss practice. Yeah, I can’t miss practice. … I’m a rookie. I don’t think that’s a good look. I want to try to work for my teammates and I don’t know if that would be my goal.”
It was reported earlier this week that the White House scheduled the Hoosiers’ visit on May 11, after the college football team went 16-0 last season and won its first College Football Playoff National Championship on January 19.
Since that historic championship win, the Las Vegas Raiders selected Mendoza with the No.1 overall pick in the NFL draft on April 23. The athlete did not attend the draft in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in person, choosing instead to celebrate his career milestone at home with his parents in Miami.
“My mother really wanted to do it at home and she did [both of] my parents,” he told ESPN The Rich Eisen Show last month. “It’s very easy for us, especially with the family situation.”
Fernando referred to his concerns, as his mother, Elsahe was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2007 and now uses a wheelchair.
Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza in December 2025.
Adam Hunger/Getty Images“We will have to board a plane the next morning,” explained Mendoza The Rich Eisen Show. “On that trip, it would be very easy to stay at home. I wanted to stay and make a memory with everyone who came to my football trip. Coaches, coaches, family, friends. Being able to share that time with all of them will be the best memory I can make, rather than limiting it to 10 or 12 people in Pittsburgh.”
The athlete celebrated being drafted by the Raiders with an update on his favorite social media site, LinkedIn.
“It’s official. Thank you for the opportunity and I’m ready to start work,” he wrote, the NFL replied: “Welcome to the League!”
Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza looks back on moving forward with an emotional postgame interview following his Big 10 Championship game victory. “It was really emotional,” Mendoza, 22, admitted to People in an interview published Friday, December 12. “Maybe it was too much.” After his victory over the Indiana Hoosiers […]
Fernando won the Heisman Trophy in December 2025, giving an emotional speech in which he presented the award to his mother.
“Mami, this is your cup as it is mine,” he told Elsa on stage. “You’ve always been my biggest fan. You’re my light, ‘what you are,’ my biggest supporter.”
The quarterback grew emotional as he continued, “Your dedication, courage, love, that was my first playbook and that playbook that I will carry by my side for the rest of my life. You taught me that toughness doesn’t have to be loud. It can be quiet and strong. It chooses hope. Believing in yourself when the world doesn’t give you much reason, what can I do with you and I think people love you.”
